Windmill-regulator.



H. o. SCHNEIDER. WINDMILL REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21, 1910.

Patented Feb. '7, 1911.

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H. G. SCHNEIDER.

WINDMILL REGULATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 21, 1910. Patented Feb. 7, 1911.

W v any NITE STATES PATNT FFICE.

HENRY C. SCHNEIDER, OF BELOIT, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR T0 FAIRBANKS, MORSEAND COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.-

WINDMILL-REG-ULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 21, 1910.

Patented Feb. '7, 1911. Serial No. 556,700.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY C. SCHNEIDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Beloit, in the county of Rock and State of \Visconsin, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in lVindmill-Regulators,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to windmill regu lators for' furling andunfurling the mill as the pressure or quantity of water in the storagevessel increases or decreases above or below predetermined limits.

In ordinary windmill regulators the regulating mechanism starts to furlthe windmill long before the maximum water pressure is reached, andpulls the mill only partially out of the wind. Then, if a little wateris drawn from the tank it immediately throws the mill into the windagain.

The object of my invention is to produce a regulator which is morestable in its action and will hold the mill squarely into the wind untila predetermined maximum pressure is reached and will then completelyfurl the mill and hold it furlcd until there has been a substantial dropin pressure. This prevents the continual throwing of the mill into andout of the wind, and renders the action more complete when it does takeplace.

I obtain my objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a general side elevation showing myregulator connected up with a windmill. and pump. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation partly in section of the regulating cylinder. F 3 is similarto Fig. l but shows the parts in changed position. Fig. 4 shows amodification in the connection between the regulating rod and theregulating lever.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the form selected to illustrate the invention, the rod a of the pumpZ) is connected to the mill in the ordinary manner. Leading from thepump is a discharge pipe 0 which conveys water from the pump to anysuitable tank (Z. Said tank may be of any desirable type, for example, apressure tank or a storage tank, so arranged that the pressure will varyin pro-portion to the amount of water present.

A regulating cylinder 6, shown in detail in Fig. 2, is connected up tothe system in such a way that its plunger will be subject to thepressure in tank d. In the present instance the cylinder is shown to beconnected in pipe 0 between the pump and the tank, and the cylinder isarranged to extend vertically downward from said pipe. The plunger rod 9is fastened to the plunger and extends through the lower cylinder head.It is connected by suitable means, such as the cross-frame ii, to theconnecting rods 2', which pass upwardly along the sides of the cylinder,and are connected at their upper end to another cross-framej of anysuitable construction. Frame j is articulatcly connected to theregulating rod is, which, in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 3,

has a clevis m at its upper extremity provided at the top with a roller0 adapted to roll upon the upper edge of the regulating lever 72. Stopsr are adjustably secured to said lever in such manner as to permit alimited amount of travel of the roller 0 lengthwise of said lever. Lover72 is fulcrumed upon a pin 3 located in a convenient position in thetower of the mill. Said pin passes through a slot 29 formedlongitudinally in lever p.

A counter-balance weight If is slidingly mounted upon the lever 29, thesliding movement being limited by any suitable means, for example, thepin Z" passing through the slot 72 formed longitudinally in said lever.

A furling rod u is articulately connected to lever 22, and in thepresent instance the connection is a sliding one, said rod having a pina sliding in a slot 79 extending longitudinally in the lever. Rod ufurls and unfurls the windmill according to any suitable principle, thisbeing not directly concerned with my present invention. It is suflicientto say that the operation is such that when the furling rod is in raisedposition, shown in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the mill willbe in unfurled condition, and .ac tive, and that the pulling down ofsaid rod, for example, to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3,will furl the mill and render it inactive.

In operation, the parts normally occupy the position shown in full linesin Fig. 1 with the furling rod u up and the mill in acting condition.The plunger f will at this time occupy a position at the top of thecylinder e, and the lever will slant in the directhe leverage of rod is;third, the lever itself shifts uponits fulcrum in such direction-as toincrease the leverage of the counterweight if and decrease the leverageof the regulating rod is, fourth, the furling rod u slides outward alongthe lever away from the fulcrum thereof, thus decreasing the effectwhich a given amount of torque in the lever will produce upon saidfurling rod. As'the mill is in operation under these conditions it willoperate the pump and force water through the pipe 0 into the tank d.

When the pressure in the tank reaches a certain point the piston f willcommence to descend and pull down the rod is, and as soon as the leverhas passed the horizontal position four things happen, all of which tendto increase the pulling efiect of the rod k, towit, first, thecounter-weighty? slides inward along the lever toward the fulcrum, thuslessening its effect; second, the clevis m and roller 0 move along thelever away from the fulcrum, thus increasing the leverage of rod 7:;third, the lever itself shifts upon its fulcrum in such direction as todecrease the leverage of the counter-weight and increase the leverage ofthe regulating rod 70; fourth, the furling rod to slides inward alongthe lever toward the fulcrum thereof, thus increasing the elfect which agiven amount of torque in the lever will produceupon said furling rod.These conditions are illustrated infull lines Fig. 3. Thus, the actionof the parts automatically varies the leverage of the organism with theresult that the action 'is self-augmenting. In other words, the pressureof the tank has a greater effect in'holdingthe mill furledafter it isonce furled than it has to furl the mill while the latter is inoperation. This permits the pressure in the tank to vary considerablybetween predetermined limits without afiecting the condition of themill. For example, suppose the parts are so adjusted that the lever andfurling rod will not be pulled down until the pressure in the tankreaches twenty pounds per square inch. As soon as twenty pounds pressureis reached and the parts are pulled down, as shown in full lines in Fig.3, the effect of the regulating rod with respect to the rest of themechanism is increased, and as a result, a much smaller pressure, forexample, five pounds per square inch, will serve to hold the parts down,and the parts will not return to normal position until the pressure hasdropped below the lower limit of five pounds. The action of theregulator is thus rendered less sensitive, and a range of variation ofpressure may occur without changing the condition of the mill.Furthermore, as a result of the automatically varied leverage the millmay be held in completely furled condition when furled and squarely inthe wind when unfurled.

By adjusting the position of the stops 1' upon rod 79 the sensitivenessof the apparatus may be varied, the lever having a series of apertures79* therein for this purpose.

The details of construction may be varied without departing from thespirit of the invention, for example, instead of the clevis and rollerarrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 3,'the lever may be slotted, as shownat p in Fig. 4, to accommodate a pin is at the upper end of said rod.

IVhile I have shown a construction in which four different actionscontribute to the automatic increase or decrease in the effect of theregulating rod upon the rest of the system, it must be clearlyunderstood that the same kind of effect may be obtained, but to acorrespondingly lessened degree, by a construction in which any one orany two, or any three of said actions may occur. For example, the samekind of effect would be obtained if the counter-balance weight werenon-shiftable upon the lever, the lever were non-shiftable upon itsfulcrum, and the furling rod were non-shiftable along the lever, theregulating rod is remaining shiftable along the lever, as shown. Infact, under certain conditions this last named construction ispreferable as it is less complicated.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:--

1. In a windmill regulator, the combination of a furling member, a leverconnected to said furling member for operating it, and a regulatingmember contacting said lever for operating it, the point of contactbeing automatically shiftable along said lever toward and from thefulcrum thereof.

2. In a windmill regulator, the combination of a furling member, a leverconnected to said furling member for operating it, and a regulatingmember adapted to engage said lever at different points lengthwisethereof, said regulating member being free to swing 1.15

laterally whereby the point of engagement a rider attached to saidregulating rod and adapted to travel along said lever.

5. The combination with the tower and furling rod of a windmill and thepressure tank of the storage system, of a lever fulcrumed upon the towerand connected to the furling rod, a cylinder communicating with saidtank, a plunger in said cylinder, and a regulating rod operated by saidplunger and connected to said lever, the regulating rod being laterallymovable and free to contact the regulating rod at different points alongthe lever.

6. The combination with a Windmill of a furling rod, a lever connectedto said rod, a roller traveling along said lever toward and from thefulcrum thereof, a regulating rod having said roller journaled at oneend thereof, the said end being free to move laterally, a vessel, a pumpfor pumping thereinto, a cylinder communicating with said vessel, and aplunger in said cylinder connected to saidregulating rod.

7. In a device of the class described the combination of a lever, ashiftable lever resting upon its fulcrum at different points along thelever depending upon the slant of the latter, a regulating rod actingupon said lever at different points depending upon the slant of thelever, a furling rod operated by said lever at different points alongthe lever depending upon the slant of the lever, and a counterweight onsaid lever adapted to slide to different positions thereon dependingupon the slant thereof.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presenceof two witnesses.

HENRY G. SCHNEIDER. WVitnesses ALBERT WALTON, G120. B. INGERSOLL.

